Germany promises €1 billion for India’s e-mobility plans, ups domestic subsidies by 50%

Germany has offered €1 billion in aid towards supporting India’s efforts towards urban e-mobility, as part of a number of bi-lateral agreements signed towards positive climate action. The country will also extend €35 million to help India expand its grid and scale up its energy storage capacity, and is reportedly keen to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

At home, the German government has upped the subsidies on EVs by 50% from this month, through to 2025. The new rules come under its Climate Protection Program 2030 and could usher in as many as 650,000-700,000 new EVs. However, one of its leading EV manufacturers, VW Group, has decided to only develop and sell SUVs in India, seemingly to counteract the country’s slowdown in passenger cars. 

New battery charging method adds 200km range in 10 minutes

Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University have developed a new method to charge lithium-ion batteries — called Asymmetric Temperature Modulation (ATM) — that can add around 200km of driving range in a mere 10 minutes.

ATM circumvents the long-standing issue of accelerated degradation of battery materials under heavy charging rates, and successfully reduces the cooling requirement for batteries. The project was a response to the US Department of Energy’s goal to produce Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) technology. 

China to possibly cut EV subsidies again

The Chinese finance ministry may cut EV subsidies even further next year as it decides to let the sector come up to speed with market-driven competition. However, as the world’s largest EV market, it could cause a massive slump in sales and send profits tumbling for some of the biggest players, including Warren Buffet-backed BYD. EV subsidies were first halved in June 2019 and caused a prolonged downturn in EV sales. 

New electric motor plant planned for Bangalore

Bangalore could get a new $14million electric motor manufacturing facility that is jointly owned by Japan’s Mitsui and Company and Taiwan’s TECO Electric & Machinery Co. The plant could be an example of foreign firms establishing operations under the “Make in India” drive, and is expected to commence operations by the end of 2020.

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